Category: book reviews

  • Book Review: Wild Gypsy of Arbor Hill by Harvey Havel

    Wild Gypsy of Arbor Hill by Harvey Havel, 2019, Novella, 56,000 words Ebook for sale at Smashwords, Amazon, etc Recommended if you like: John Steinbeck, Leonard Gardner’s Fat City or William Kennedy Wild Gypsy of Arbor Hill is a realistic and unsentimental tale about love, longing and loss. It’s also an investigation into how financial…

  • CATS ON FILM by Anne Billson (BOOK REVIEW)

    CATS ON FILM by Anne Billson (2017),  300  pages with illustrations. Author’s Website and Book Blog  Ebook: Amazon/Smashwords  . Price: $6.99 Print Editions: Used copies are available, but with ebooks so cheap, why bother? Summary: Critical  look at movies with cats in them. The book is a real hoot to read — great insights and erudite movie  snark. Recommended if you like:  Quirky…

  • 2018 Overlooked Ebook Gems for $1 or less on Smashwords — Ebook Week March 4-10

    (These sales are valid until midnight on Saturday March 10.  I’ll be adding more titles until that time.   If you have any free/almost free titles to recommend from SW, please list it in the comments. Thanks!] Smashwords may not yet be a household name yet to readers, but it serves as a great alternative to…

  • Life Lessons In Leadership (Book Review)

    Title:   Life Lessons in Leadership: The Way of the Wallaby: For Leaders Ages 8 to 88 Author:  Ann McMullan, Michael Barrett, Lisa Breshears (Design) Publisher:  Createspace Genre: Nonfiction, Hybrid Genre.  ISBN:  978-0325053011 Publishing Date: November 2016 Where to Buy:  Author’s Web Site. Amazon.com, BN Price: $14.95 for print book (no ebook is available) Summary: light-hearted way to…

  • Making Sense of Algebra (Book Review)

    Title:  Making Sense of Algebra: Developing Students’ Mathematical Habits of Mind Author:  E. Paul Goldenberg, EDC, Inc., June Mark, EDC, Inc., Jane M. Kang, EDC, Inc., Mary Fries, EDC, Inc., Cynthia J. Carter, The Rashi School, Tracy Cordner, EDC, Inc. Publisher: Heinemann,  (Download Sample Chapter) ISBN:  978-0325053011 Publishing Date: April 2015 Where to Buy: Publisher’s…

  • Education Book Reviews

    Over the past few months I have been pursuing  a teacher’s public school certification for Texas. One important step in that endeavor has been reading the latest books on education policy, curriculum and classroom management. I have been collecting lots of books and learning new things. I haven’t begun to finish these books, but I…

  • Book Review: Houston Dining Index by Mike Riccetti

    Houston Dining Index by Mike Riccetti (2013), Tempus Fugit Press.180 pages.(Author Website) Ebook Edition: $3.99  (Buy at Amazon, and  BN) Summary: great restaurant review book with lots of useful lists (such as restaurants near Metro Rail stops), but it is somewhat  difficult to browse by neighborhood or region. The author is a Houston native who…

  • Brief Book Reviews 3

    Here’s my next batch of capsule book reviews.  Now that I’ve figured an easier way to lay things out, I hope to post book reviews more frequently. Next batch will have more indie ebooks, I promise! Here’s an index to my other book reviews.

  • Best Books about Energy, Environment & Climate Change

    One sign you have become an energy geek is when your bedtime reading tends to be academic tomes about renewable energy. Despite my literary tendencies, I don’t deny that I find these volumes to be engrossing and fascinating; the subject seems to have an urgency missing from the software or publishing world.  I have come…

  • Brief Book Reviews 2

    Here are some abbreviated book reviews. (The brevity neither reflects on the quality but simply on my inclination to write a thorough review at the time). See also: my index of book reviews which I recently started. Please note that at the bottom of this post I’m going to try to mention books which I’m…

  • Jade: Outlaw By Robert Flynn (Book Review)

    Jade: Outlaw by Robert Flynn (2010), JoSara MeDia, 190 pages. Author’s Website and Blog (with RSS feed) Ebook: Amazon/BN (now at  99 cents!) Print Editions: Used copies are available, but with ebooks so cheap, why bother? Summary: A  Western tale about a 19th century Texas town  that is harsh, spiritual and profound. Recommended if you…

  • Complete Works and Other Stories by Augusto Monterroso (Book Review)

    Complete Works and Other Stories by Augusto Monterroso (1995), UT Press (Austin). Translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman, 150 pages. Print Editions: Used copies are available for about $10 Book Page at UT Press site , Amazon.com page, Complete Review page , Author Wikipedia page ; Another review. Summary: A great and hilarious sketchbook with…

  • Brief Book Reviews 1

    Here are some abbreviated book reviews. (The brevity neither reflects on the quality but simply on my inclination to write a thorough review at the time). See also: my index of book reviews which I recently started. What Philosophy Can Tell You about Your Dog. By Steven D. Hales. A fun and erudite anthology of…

  • Highly Recommended Fiction Books

    This list compiles my favorite literary titles I’ve read since 2005.   This repeats my capsule review/synopses that I write for my Reading/Writing chronologies (see link at top). I’ll update this list over time, with my most recent recommendations appearing at the bottom. See also my list of favorite novels and a list of writers who…

  • A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane: By Barry Yourgrau (Book Review)

    A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane by Barry Yourgrau (1999) Print Editions:  Used copies are available for less than $5. Ebook Editions: Amazon, BN (less than $4) Arcade Publishing,   Author Website. Summary:  Spellbinding flash fiction which is silly/fantastic/profound – take your pick. Rating: 5 Stars. Recommended if you like:  Baudelaire’s Paris Spleen, David Byrne, …

  • Gambler’s Nephew by Jack Matthews (Book Review)

    Print Editions: $12.44 ( as of Sept 6/2011) Amazon;  Barnes & Noble ; Print Version Available (240 pages). Ebook: None. Estruscan Books, 2011  Author Website. Summary: A highly readable and historically accurate  story about how  an accidental killing of a slave in 19th century USA affects various families and communities.  A old-fashioned yarn told with…